Price tag dispenser



w. A. KASPAR PRICE TAG DISPENSER June 10, 1958 25 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledMarch 15, 1956 IN V EN TOR.

. Kaspar June 10, 1958 w. A. KASPAR 2,838,171

PRICE TAG DISPENSER Filed March 15, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 e2 64INVENTOR.

V Y. A. Kas 'ar @mbfi aria/my United States Patent C PRICE TAG DISPENSERWilliam A. Kaspar, Omaha, Nebn, assignor to Paramount Paper ProductsCompany, a corporation of Nebraska Application March 15, 1956,Serial-N0. 571,772

6. Claims. (Cl. 206-58) The instant invention relates to price tags,labels and the like employed primarily by retail establishments such asgrocery and chain stores which employ said tags in conjunction with asealing of packages of merchandise, the latter usually being wrapped intransparent paper. 7

It is an object of the invention to provide a device for manuallydispensing said tags from a container or housing successively andintermittently and in a manner whereby an operator may write upon thetags a selected price for indicating to a purchaser of. a package thecost of the latter. tachably secured in a row at common end portionsthereof to a flexible disposable backing strip by a suitable means suchas a pressure-sensitive adhesive and by machinery in a manner well knownto the art.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device for theabove-stated purpose which is so constructed that during a manualwithdrawal of said strip and tags from the housing of the instantinvention, the free ends of said tags are projected from said housing inone direction and the backing strip is guided in a different direction,whereby an operator may grasp a tag between his thumb and forefinger forreadily detaching the adhered portions of the tags from the backingstrip.

Yet another object of the. invention is to provide a device having acomparatively rigid surface over which the backing strip and tags aremanually drawn for facilitating an operators manually writing selectedmemoranda, such as prices incents and dollars, on the tags prior to adetachment of the latter from the strip to which they are initiallyremovably attached.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device for theforegoing purposes manufactured primarily from cardboard, whereby a dieblanks out said housing from thesaid material, said blank being therebyprovided with indented lines of demarcation indicating where a foldingof the blank along said' lines is to occur for producingsaid housing inan economical manner.

The invention contemplates a marketing. of a package which includes theflexible backing strip having the tags removably attached thereto, thebacking strip being preferably in roll. form and within said package,ready for use.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will beunderstood from the following detailed description thereof.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the exterior of the new device.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectionthereof, the view being takensubstantially on line 2--2 of Figure 1' and Figure. 4 is a top plan viewof the devicedepicted in- Figure 2, certain portions thereof beingbroken away and others shown in section.

The minor portions of said tags are de- Figure 5 is a plan view of thehousing of the instant invention blanked out from a sheet of cardboardor the like and prior to a folding of the blank for providing thefinished housing shown in Figure 1. a

Figure 6 is a plan view of a support and spacing member preferablyemployed at the time said member is blanked out and die cut from a sheetof cardboard and prior to a folding thereof.

Figure 7 depicts the blank shown inFigure 5 in apartially foldedcondition for subsequently providing said housing.

Figure 8 depicts said preferred spacing member shown in Figure 6 in apartially folded condition.

Figure 9 depicts the member's shown in Figures'7 and 8 assembledtogether preparatory to forming the com= plete housing shown in Figures1 through 4.

The instant invention also provides a method of manufacturing the saiddevice economically for the dispensing of pressure-sensitive tags orlabels in'conjunction with and from their continuous disposable backingstrip and in such a manner that the tags are readily manually sep arablefrom their backing strip subsequent to a writing of memoranda on thetags, and immediately ready for attachment to a package of merchandiseadhes'ively.

While one embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theabove-referred-to drawings, it is to be understood that they are merelyfor the purpose of illustration and that various changes in constructionniay be restored to in the course of manufacture in order that'theinven-' tion may be utilized to the best advantage according tocircumstances which may arise, without in any manner departing from thespirit and intention of the device, which is to be limited only inaccordance with the ap= pended claims. And while there is stated theprimary field of utility of the invention, it remains obvious that itmay be employed in any other capacity wherein it may be foundapplicable.

In the accompanying drawings, and in the following specification, thesame reference characters are usedto" designate the same parts andelements throughout and in which the numeral 10 refers to the inventionin its entirety, and 12 indicates generally anv outer housing. Thelatter has therein a reinforcing support and spac ing member generallyindicated at 14 which is preferably employed. The member 14 is employedat tinies when the device is made of comparatively thin cardboard, andit will be'understood that the member 14 may be dispensed with at timeswhen the housing 12 is formed of more rigid material such as plastic,heavy cardboard or the like.

In the finished product the housing 12 includes oppositely disposed sidewalls 16 and 18, oppositely dis-' posed end walls 20 and 22, a bottom24, and a top 26. The end wall 22 is provided, preferably with twoelongated apertures 28 and 30 for purposes later described, and it willbe understood that but one aperture may be employed at times when thehousing is fromed of plastic material, sheet metal, or the like.

The die cut blank for the housing, said blank being best shown in Figure5', further includes a plurality of tangs indicated at 32 and 34. Thetangs are disposed in alignment with the end wall 20 and formed integralwith the housing blank, being respectively separated from the top 26 andthe bottom 24 by means of notches'36 whereby they may be readily folded,as later described. One end of the end wall 22 is provided with a tongue38 which is similarly separated from the bottom 24 by means of a furtherlike notch 36.

During a descent of the cutting die (not shown) which blanks out thesheet material to the contour shown in Figure 5, the said die punchesout or incises thetop portion 26 for providing an opening 40 throughsaid top,

and their later-described backing strip requires the same.

In the finished housing, and as best shown in Figure 2, the lip isprovided with an edge 44. In instances where the lip is omitted, thesaid edge is provided by and at the junction of the top 26 and the endwall 22.

When formed of comparatively thin cardboard, the lip portion 42, in thefinished product, protrudes outwardly beyond the end wall 22, as shownin Figure 2.

Referring to Figure 5, the blankthere shown further depicts the lipportion 42 protruding from the top 26 and spaced from the opening 40 ofsaid top for purposes later described. The lip 42 includes a foldportion 46.

A lappet 48 is provided formed integral with the blank as shown inFigure 5. The lappet may be bent outwardly from the end wall 22 as bestshown in Figure 2, said lappet being preferably employed at times whenthe device is made of cardboard for supporting the lip 42 and at timeswhen the fold 46 of the lip is disposed in the position shown in Figure2. The fold 46 and the lappet 48 are preferably secured together by anysuitable means in the finished product, as by means of a suitableadhesive or by means of a thin wire staple indicated at 50, best shownin Figure 2, said staple also being represented by broken lines inFigure 1. In many instances the said securing means or staple may bedispensed with.

Further referring to Figure 5, the blank there depicted further includesa tab portion 52 joined to the top 26 and a flap 54' joined to thebottom 24. An extension 56 is provided for the apertured end wall 22 andemployed for purposes later described.

The broken lines, indicated at 58, shown in Figure 5, represent spacedapart indentations provided in the sheet material for slightly weakeningthe latter in alignment therewith, said lines 58 facilitating a foldingof the blank along' said lines for forming said housing as laterdescribed.

The portions 32, 34, 38, 52, 54 and 56 are each provided with cutawaycorners or beveled portions for facilitating an assembly of the housingblank 12 in the finished housing.

Referring to Figures 6, 8, and 9 of the drawings, and first to Figure 6,the reinforcing spacing member generally indicated at 14 includes wingportions 60 and 62 which are oppositely disposed during use. Betweensaid wings a bridge 64 is provided, said bridge having a tail portion 66at one end thereof. During use the tail 66 is disposed outwardly awayfrom the bridge for providing a reinforcement for the lip 42 and ininstances where the lip 42 is formed of comparatively thin or weak card-'board. The wing 62 is provided with a skirt portion 68 having afoldable end portion 70. The skirt 68 serves as a reinforcement, attimes when the device is constructed of weak cardboard, for that portionof the top 26 which is indicated at 72, the latter lying between theopening 40 and the edge 44 of said top. The portion 72 is employed forpurposes later described.

The member 14 is blanked out of sheet material by means of a suitabledie and to the contour shown in Figure 6. During a descent of said diethe member 14 is provided with a plurality of incisions 74 for providingspurs 76 which extend beyond the wings 60 and 6 2 at the time said wingsare folded toward each other. The spurs are best shown in Figures 2 and9, and are preferably employed for causing the outer surface of thebridge 64 to be spaced away from the end wall 22 of the housing, as bestshown in Figure 2, for providing a space indicated at 78 forfacilitating a threading of the end portion of the later-describedbacking strip for the labels through the apertures 28 and 30 of the endwall 22 of the housing, At times when the housing is manufactured ofplastic material, a single aperture may be '4 provided in lieu of thetwo apertures 28 and 30, said single aperture being preferably providedadjacent the bottom of the housing. I

As best shown in Figure 6, the member 14 is provided with rows ofindentations represented by broken lines 80. The indentations weaken thematerial for facilitating the folding of the several portions of themember 14 along said lines, and in alignment with said indentations.

The foldable end portion 70 of the skirt 68 has a beveled or cutawaycorner portion for facilitating an assembly of the member 14 during afolding thereof.

Referring to Figure l, 82 indicates a strip of suitable flexibledisposable material such as paper or the like. The strip 82 hasa row ofspaced-apart price tags or labels *adhesively attached thereto, saidlabels being indicated at 84. The labels or tags are each provided withan adhesive on one side thereof. Oppositely disposed end portions of alabel are indicated at 88 and 86. A minor portion of the end portion 86of each of the labels is removably attached to the strip 82, saidattached portions being minute with respect to other portions of thelabel. The portions of the labels which are free with respect to thestrip 82, during use, are all disposed toward the lip of the deviceduring a withdrawal of the strip from the housing, as later described,said portions which are loose with respect to said strip being disposedinitially flat against said strip and flat with respect to the portion82 of the top 26 of the housing.

At times when the labels are employed as price tags, a medial portion ofeach label is left blank with respect to other portions of the labelwhich depict selected printed matter, whereby an operator may employ apen and ink or the like and write in the medial portion of each tag,price indicia or the like memoranda, as may be desired.

The strip 82 preferably is in the coiled or rolled form indicated at 90,best shown in Figure 2, whereby it may be manually unrolled for causingthe tags to be disposed successively on the upper surface of the portion72 of the top 26 of the housing and between said edge 44 and the opening40 of said top during operation. The free end portion 92 of the coil 90is disposed through the opening 40 of the top 26 and over the edge 44and threaded or reeved through the aperture 28 of the end wall 22 of thehousing, said end portion 92 of the strip being also reeved outwardly ofthe housing through the aperture 30 of said end Wall 22, whereby theoperator may grasp an end portion of the strip for uncoiling the rollthereof and removing tags from within the housing, said tags becomingdisposed intermittently, as above described, between the edge 44 and theopening 40 of the top 26. At this time the bottom 24 of the housing isdisposed upon a table or other suitable surface and a withdrawal of saidstrip is achieved by the operators hand while he writes memoranda on atag with the other hand..

During a downward movement of the end portion of the strip away from theedge 44, it will be noted that the tags 84, as shown in Figure 2, arecaused to project, as to the free ends of said tags, in alignment withand beyond the top 26 of the housing, as represented by the broken lines94 in Figure 2, while at the same time that portion of the strip whichwas formerly disposed against the tag is guided downwardly and away fromthe tag through the apertures of the end wall 22, said withdrawal beingcontinued until the free end portion 88 of the tag is disposed beyondthe edge 44, thereby providing spaces at the opposite sides of the tagwhich may be readily grasped between the thumb and forefinger of theoperator for detaching the minute endportion 86 of the tag whichtherefore was attached to its backing or carrying strip 82.

The convolutions 90 of the rolled backing strip are disposed between thewings 60 and 62 of the member 14 at times when the latter is employed,otherwise said convolutions are directly carried'within and between thewalls of the housing generally indicated at 12.

At times when the housing is formed of cardboard, the housing ispreferably rectangular in side elevation, as shown, since it may befolded to said contour economically and as distinguished from amanufacture of the device from plastic material, where the said sideelevational contour would not necessarily be rectangular.

The blank shown in Figure 5 for the housing, after being made, is firstfolded on the lines 58 of the end wall 20 so that the sides 16 and 18 ofthe housing are disposedside by side and spaced from each other.

The end wall 22 of the housing is then folded so that it is disposed ata right angle with respect to the side wall 18, and the extension 56 ofthe end wall 22 is folded so that it is at a right angle with respect tothe end wall and in parallelism with the side wall 16.

A suitable adhesive may then be applied to the extension 56 and betweeenit and the adjacent portion of the end wall 16 for maintaining saidparts together at that time providing a configuration which isrectangular in plan, and open at the top and bottom.

The tang 32 of the end wall 20 is then folded inwardly of saidrectangular configuration and the lappet 4,8 moved outwardly away fromthe end wall 22.

The tab portion 52 of the top 26 is now folded at a right angle withrespect to said top, and the latter folded toward the adjacent edge ofthe side 18 for disposing said tab inwardly and against the innersurface of the side Wall 18. i

The fold portion 46 of the lip 42 is now folded over the lappet 48 andsecured to the latter if desired.

In instances where the member 14 is employed, the wings 60and 62 are nowdisposed side by side by folding them along the lines 80 of the bridge64.

The foldable portion 70 of the skirt 68 is now bent at a right anglewith respect to the latter, and said skirt bent so that it is disposedat a right angle with respect to the wing 62 for causing the foldableportion 70 of the wing to be disposed against the inner surface of thewing 60.

The coil 90 is then placed between the wings 60 and 62, and the endportion 92 of the coil drawn through the opening 40 of the housing afterthe member 40 has been placed inwardly of the housing 12.

The tang 34 and the tongue 38 are then folded at a right anglerespectively of the end walls 20 and 22.

The flap 54 of the housing is then folded at a right angle with respectto the bottom 24 and the latter folded so that the flap 54 disposedwithin the housing and against the inner surface of the side wall 16. Ininstances where the member 14 is employed, the tail portion 66 of thebridge 64 is disposed against the lip as shown in Figure 2. The packageis then ready for distribution to the ultimate user.

As best shown in Figure 2, the opening 40 through the top 26 iscomparatively small in transverse width, which aids a stretching of thebacking strip flat upon the portion 72 of the top during a movement ofthe backing strip and the labels over said portion for maintaining thelabels fiat and in conjunction with the aperture 28 against the walls ofwhich the backing strip engages during a withdrawal of the latterthrough the aperture 28.

After a removal of a desired number of labels from the backing strip, asabove described, the free end of the latter is torn off and discarded.

From the foregoing specification, it will become apparent that theinvention disclosed will adequately accomplish the functions for whichit has been designed and in an economical manner, and that itssimplicity, accuracy, and ease of operation are such as to provide arelatively inexpensive device, considering what it will accomplish, andwhat it will find an important place in *6 the art to which itappertains when once placed on the market.

It is, thought that persons skilled in the art to which the inventionrelates will be able to obtain a clear understanding of the inventionafter considering the description in connection with the drawings.Therefore a more lengthy description is regarded as unnecessary.

. Changes in shape, size and rearrangement of details and parts such ascome within the purview of the invention claimed may be resorted to inactual practice, if desired.

I claim:

1. A device for dispensing. price tags or labels detachably attached ina row to a strip of flexible material, said attachment being at like endportions of said tags comprising a housing for said strip having sidewalls, a top, a bottom and end walls, said housing being provided withan edge adjacent the junction of one of said end walls and the topthereof, together with an opening disposed through said top; said stripbeing adapted to be withdrawn from said housing through said openingtoward and over said edge; said opening and said edge being spaced apartto define therebetween a platform portion of the top wall for supportingthe strip with a tag thereon during manual writing ofintelligencebearing indicia on said tag; and said end wall of saidhousing being provided with two apertures through which said strip isadapted to be received for guiding said strip at an approximate rightangle away from said edge causing the free end portions of said tags tobe successively moved outwardly beyond said edge facilitating a manualdetachment of the other ends of said tags from said strip duringoperation; the tags being on the exposed side of the strip when saidstrip is on said platform portion of the top wall.

2. A device for dispensing price tags or labels detachably attached in arow to a strip of flexible material, said attachment being at like endportions of said tags comprising a housing for said strip having sidewalls, a top, a bottom, and end walls, said housing being provided withan opening through its top; a lip protruding beyond the junction of saidtop with one of said end walls; said strip being adapted to be withdrawnfrom said housing through said opening and over said lip; said openingand said lip being spaced apart at least the length of one of said tagsto define therebetween a platform portion of the top wall for supportingthe strip with a tag thereon during manual writing ofintelligence-bearing indicia on said tag; and the said one end wallbeing provided with two apertures for receiving said strip threadedlytherethrough, whereby at times when an end portion of said strip ismanually drawn through said apertures away from said lip the free endportions of said tags are caused to extend outwardly beyond said lip forfacilitating a manual detachment of the other ends of said tags fromsaid strip; the tags being on the exposed side of the strip when saidstrip is on said platform portion of the top wall.

3. A device for dispensing price tags or labels detachably attached in arow to a strip of flexible material, said attachment being at like endportions of said tags comprising a housing for said strip having atleast a top and an end wall disposed at an approximate right angle tosaid top, said housing being provided with an opening through said top,said end wall being provided with at least one aperture; and a lipprotruding from said top beyond the junction of said top and said endwall, said strip being adapted to be manually withdrawn from saidhousing through said opening over said lip and through said apertureaway from said lip for causing the free end potrions of said tags tosuccessively extend beyond said lip for facilitating detachment of theother ends of said tags from said strip during operation; said openingand said lip being spaced apart at least the length of one of said tagsto define therebetween a platform portion of the top wall for supportingthe strip with a tag thereon during manual writing ofintelligence-bearing indicia on said tag; the tags being on the exposedside of the strip when said strip is on said flat wall portion of thetop wall. a

4. A method of making packages having housings of sheet material for usein dispensing tags or labels detach- =ably secured in a row to one sideof a strip of flexible material comprising the blanking of a portionfrom a sheet of material for side walls, end Walls, a top portionattached to one of said side walls and a bottom portion attached to theother side wall, an extension for one of said end walls, a flap portionfor said bottom, a tab portion for said top, a tongue for the said endwall having the said extension, tangs for the other one of said endwalls; simultaneously providing an opening through an intermediateportion of said top and spaced apertures through the end wall to whichsaid extension is attached of a housing; folding the side wall portionsinto parallelism with respect to each other; folding said extension at aright angle with respect to its end wall and disposing said extensionagainst the inner surface of the side wall having said top; folding saidtab portion at a right angle with respect to said top, folding thelatter to dispose said tab toward and against the adjacent side wall, todispose said opening of said top transversely of said top between saidside walls; placing a coil of said flexible material having said tagsthereon within said housing; placing a free end of said coil through theopening of said top; folding said tangs and tongue inwardly of saidhousing; folding said flap at a right angle with respect to said bottom;folding the latter to cause its flap to be disposed inwardly of thepackage and between the inner surface of the adjacent side wall of thepackage and edges of said tangs.

5. In a method of making housings for use in dispensing tags or labelsdetachably secured in a row to one side of a strip of flexible materialcomprising the blanking of a portion from a sheet of material for sidewalls, end walls, a top portion attached to one of said side walls and abottom portion attached to the other side wall; forming an extension forone of said end walls, a flap portion for said bottom, a tab portion forsaid top and a lip portion protruding from said top; simultaneouslyproviding an opening through said top spaced from said lip portion andspaced apertures through the end wall to which said extension isattached of a housing; folding said side wall portions into approximateparallelism with respect to each other; folding said extension at aright angle with respect to its end wall and disposing said extensionagainst the inner surface of the side wall having said top; folding saidtab at a right angle with respect to said top and the latter toward andagainst the adjacent side wall to dispose said lip outwardly beyond theadjacent end wall and said opening of said top transversely of thelatter between said side walls; folding said flap at a right angle withrespect to said bottom, and the latter to cause its flap to be disposedinwardly and against the inner surface of the adjacent side wall of thehousing.

6. A device for dispensing price tags or labels detachably attached in arow to a strip of flexible material, said attachment being at like endportions of each of said tags, comprising a housing for said strip withtags attached thereto provided with an edge exteriorly thereof and anopening through which the strip may be withdrawn from said housingtoward and over said edge; said opening and said edge being spaced apartto define therebetween a flat wall portion of said housing forsupporting the strip with a tag thereon during manual writing ofintelligence-bearing indicia on said tag; and said strip being manuallygraspable for guiding said strip away from said edge to cause the freeend portions of said tags to be successively moved outwardly beyond saidedge facilitating a manual detachment of the tags from said strip duringoperation; the tags being on the exposed side of the strip when saidstrip is on said fiat wall portion of said housing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,090,612 Goldsmith Mar. 17, 1914 2,276,296 Flood Mar. 17, 19422,341,368 Flood Feb. 8, 1944 2,394,991 Flood Feb. 19, 1946 FOREIGNPATENTS 17,882 France Oct. 8, 1913 607,883 France Apr. 9, 1926

